Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

two groups—the Aga Khan Rural Support
Programme (AKRSP) in the Northern Areas and the
Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi—were considered to
have made a significant contribution in the development
sphere. But since the early 1990s some 50
middle-sized to large NGOs have starting working
in development. A large number of beneficiary-led
organizations at the community level were formed,
and village organizations created by development
projects have commenced working in the development
sphere in addition to their welfare work.
NGOs did not begin to play a role in development
and environmental management until the early
1990s, and those involved were mostly urban-based
groups with headquarters in Peshawar, Islamabad,
and Abbotabad. Today, some 10 NGOs in the
NWFP are in this category, with more than 10 fulltime
staff.
In summary, the NGO movement in the NWFP
has gained momentum but is still in its infancy.
Though the NGO-State relationship is strained at
Federal level, a good understanding between the
groups is found at provincial level in the NWFP.
Several NGOs have proved to be effective agents
of change and development. Steering the energies
and resources of the growing number of these
groups presents an exciting challenge and opportunity
for sustainable development in the NWFP.
8 . 2
CURRENT ROLE OF NGOS & CBOS
IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Before the 1990s, self-initiated or community-based
development and social welfare occurred at the
level of mohallahs and villages in community organizations.
There were, as such, no formal NGOs
with proper structures or staff in existence, except
for a few such as Ansar Burni Welfare Trust or the
branches of All Pakistan Women’s Association, the
Family Planning Association of Pakistan, and the
Edhi Foundation. Now some NGOs are big enough
to cover a wide range of development activities,
and others are mid-level or small NGOs dealing
with specific issues such as rural development and
environment. A few of these initiatives are discussed
N O N - G O V E R N M E N T A L O R G A N I Z A T I O N S 8
below. Some current examples of national and local
NGOs and development projects and programmes
are provided in Table 8.1.
NGOs should build up relationships with
Government for a number of reasons, as noted by
Ian Smillie in Trends and Roles for NGOs in
1 9 9 0 s: “First, government has tremendous
resources which would probably not reach their
intended target groups if NGOs did not influence
these resources. Second, more and more NGOs
see that they can actually extend some measure of
influence on government through such partnerships.”
NGOs need to identify the departments or
sections within departments of Government that can
be influenced.
In Pakistan, the relationship between NGOs and
Government has seldom been congenial. Though
there is desire on both sides to benefit from each
other’s strengths, apprehensions and mutual suspicion
constrain the working relationship. A section of
Government feels that some of the NGOs are corrupt
and want to become a surrogate Government. At the
same time, some NGOs see Government as lethargic
and corrupt, run by people who want to reduce
NGO autonomy. A recent example of the mistrust
occurred around the proposed new legislation entitled
Social Welfare Agencies Registration Act, 1995.
The bill has further weakened the relationship
between NGOs and Government. Through this bill
the Government is seen as attempting to acquire
additional authority to regulate NGOs.
Without a clear Government policy on NGOs,
there has been little communication between these
groups and the Government at either national or
provincial levels except in the NWFP, where the
Government is committed to helping NGOs with
community involvement in overall development. Both
the Government and NGOs are interested in working
together for the betterment of the people and
sustainable development of the province.
To date, the Social Welfare Department has been
the only Government organization providing support
to NGOs, mostly in the form of small grants. The limited
funds, bureaucratic procedures, and lack of
institutional capacity at the field level has rendered
the service virtually ineffective. Even if it worked, it
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